Our Founder

Founders Story

There’s only one way to win a triathlon: be the fastest. But there are lots of ways to lose one, and the margins can be tiny – sometimes heartbreakingly so. Breaking your rhythm for a couple of strides on the run, a missed shift on the bike, one stroke slightly out of sync: it doesn’t need to be much to be more than enough. So being the fastest doesn’t just mean being the fittest, strongest, most committed. It’s also about avoiding those time losses, saving every fraction of a second, wherever you can.

Our Founder

Zone3’s founder, James Lock was a World Champion driven by a relentless pursuit of speed, efficiency, and innovation.

Turning professional, he competed at the highest level for over five years, refining his understanding of what it takes to win. But he could still lose time to a simple, obvious problem: getting out of a wetsuit quickly when it’s wet, you’re tired and full of adrenaline, and the clock is running.

Back then, it affected everyone, but no one had done anything about it.

James saw opportunities for improvement, margins where time could be saved, efficiency gained, and performance maximized.

Our Founder

He started out by creating wetsuits with radical new designs and materials. They were the original Aspire and Vanquish wetsuits, and they were literally game-changing. Not just for James and his fellow pro athletes: it turned out everyone wanted a wetsuit that was easier and more comfortable to wear, and allowed them to get more from their sport at every level. Two decades later, those same products, evolved and optimized, remain industry leaders, setting the benchmark for performance swimwear.

James applied the same mindset to building Zone3 as he did to racing: surround yourself with the best, have a clear vision, and always strive for more. Today, he remains deeply involved in product our development, working with professional athletes, top amateurs, seasoned athletes, beginners and our in-house experts to ensure every Zone3 product delivers proven performance.